Lover & Beloved - 3. Bhakti

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Ivan continues his series on the Lover and Beloved, posted by his permission.--- On Wed, 18/2/09, Poetry Chaikhana <ivan wrote:

Poetry Chaikhana <ivan[Poetry Chaikhana] Lover & Beloved - 3. BhaktialanadamsjacobsDate: Wednesday, 18 February, 2009, 5:30 PM

 

Hi AlanToday let’s experience a taste of bhakti – devotion and love for God. This isn’t a vague, bland, intellectual, or prim sort of love. The Bhakti’s love is passionate, powerful, all-consuming.When he quickens all thingsTo create bliss in the world,His soft black sinuous lotus limbsBegin the festival of loveAnd beautiful cowherd girls wildlyWind him in their bodies.Friend, in spring young Hari playsLike erotic mood incarnate.- Jayadeva ( 12th century, India )

 

 

 

 

Love Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva's GitagovindaTranslated by Barbara Stoler Miller Bhakti poetry is passionate and erotic, but it is also highly spiritual, sung daily in many Indian temples. Vaishnava Krishna Bhakti poetry tells us of the love play, separation, and union between the God-man Krishna and the cowherdess Radha./ Photo by solidariat /When spring came, tender-limbed Radha wanderedLike a flowering creeper in the forest wilderness,Seeking Krishna in

his many haunts.- JayadevaLove Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva's GitagovindaTranslated by Barbara Stoler MillerAnother great Bhakti poet, Vidyapati, sings--My friend, I cannot answer when you ask me to explainwhat has befallen me.Love is transformed, renewed,each moment.He has dwelt in my eyes all the days of my life,yet I am not sated with seeing.My ears have heard his sweet voice in eternity,and yet it is always new to them.How many honeyed nights have I passed with himin love's bliss, yet my bodywonders at his.Through all the ageshe has been clasped to my breast,yet my desirenever abates.I have seen subtle people sunk in passionbut none came

so close to the heart of the fire.Who shall be found to cool your heart,says Vidyapati.- Vidyapati ( 1340? – 1430, India )

 

 

 

 

In Praise of Krishna: Songs from the BengaliTranslated by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. and Denise Levertov With these selections, do you notice whose voice we hear in the poems? It is Radha’s, or sometimes Radha’s friend advising or taunting her – not Krishna’s, not the man’s. Even though most (not all) of this sort of poetry is written by men, we typically get the woman’s voice in the poetry./ Photo by Faithful Chant /Even when the poet enters the poem more directly, the role is

still that of Radha's:I am true to my Lord,O my companions, there is nothing to be ashamed of nowSince I have been seen dancing openly.In the day I have no hungerAt night I am restless and cannot sleep.Leaving these troubles behind, I go to the other side;A hidden knowledge has taken hold of me.My relations surround me like bees.But Mira is the servant of her beloved Giridhar,And she cares nothing that people mock her.- Mirabai ( 1498 – 1565?, India)tr. by F. E. Keay

 

 

 

 

Women Writing in India: 600 BC to the Present: Volume 1Edited by Susie Tharu and K. Lalita So why do these poems give us Radha’s perspective? Because we are all, male and female, Radha.In the Krishna tradition, the divine couple are Krishna and Radha. But Krishna is also God. That implies something very special about Radha too.We find these divine couple pairings throughout the Hindu pantheon: Krishna and Radha, Rama and Sita, Shiva and Shakti/Durga/Parvati/Kali. In Hindu metaphysics, when we come across this male-female division, the male aspect is usually understood to represent the absolute, the eternal, God beyond manifestation; the female represents Shakti or divine power, that which is active and

becomes the manifest reality of matter. (In fact, the word “matter†comes from the root, meaning Mother.)/ Photo by photoaf /So, in the broadest sense, the love of Radha for Krishna is the love of creation for the Eternal.On a more personal level, Radha is the soul. She represents consciousness engaged in material existence and experience, desperately seeking Krishna – the Absolute.In the traditional Bhakti cycle of love poetry, Radha goes through an emotional journey of first glimpsing and falling in love with Krishna, then losing sight of him and feeling abandoned. Radha seeks her beloved everywhere but is tormented when she realizes that Krishna is enjoying dalliances with other women (other

souls). / Photo by preciouskhyatt /My heart values his vulgar ways,Refuses to admit my rage,Feels strangely elated,and keeps denying his guilt.When he steals away without meTo indulge his cravingFor more young women,My perverse heartOnly wants Krishna back.What can I do?- JayadevaLove Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva's GitagovindaTranslated by Barbara Stoler MillerFinally, Radha overcomes her jealousy and she and Krishna meet in a

secret place, experiencing blissful, passionate union.Bhakti poetry manages to describe a pathway to return to Oneness with the Divine – while using the immense power of the erotic impulse to hold our attention and draw us ever deeper into the spiritual drama.He's there among the scented trees,playing the notes he has taught you.Too late for embarrassment, shy doenibbling at the forest's edge,shawled in deep blue shadows.He's calling you. The flower of your soulis opening, little deer.The river of scent will lead youdeep into the trees where he waits.The bihanga also plays tonight --do you hear his more distant flute?Black bees carry the moon's lusterfrom flower to flower.The rest of the grove will bloom tonight, I think.How he looks at you, young animal.He shames the moon with his own dark light.Let's bow down before the young Lord,the deep blue flowers at his

feet.- Rabindranath Tagore ( 1861 – 1941, India )

 

 

 

 

The Lover of Godby Rabindranath Tagore / Translated by Tony Stewart I point out these symbolic gender roles here because they come up again and again, not only in Indian Bhakti poetry, but in Sufi poetry, in Christian poetry, in Jewish poetry… The lover, the seeker, the soul, is traditionally the woman; and the Beloved, God, is the man.I’ve opened a cultural can of worms, haven’t I? We’ll look more deeply at the esoteric meaning behind these male-female roles in upcoming installments.For now, let’s leave all inhibition behind, and step into the arms of the Beloved…/ Photo by Sabrina Campagna /All my inhibition left me in a flash,When he robbed me of my clothes,But his body became my new dress.Like a bee hovering on a lotus leafHe was there in my night, on me…- Vidyapatitr. by Azfar HussainShare Your Thoughts on this note...

 

 

 

 

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